Trust relates not only to customer trust in individual companies (i.e., narrow-scope trust) but also to
the broader business context in which customer–seller relationships may develop (i.e., broad-scope
trust [BST]). Based on two surveys comprising 1155 bank consumers and 817 insurance consumers,
respectively, this study investigates the moderating influence of BST on relationships between
satisfaction, narrow-scope trust, and loyalty and also examines the direct influence of BST on these
variables. The results indicate that whereas BST negatively moderates relationships between
satisfaction and narrow-scope trust and between narrow-scope trust and loyalty, BST positively
moderates the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty. In addition, it is demonstrated that BST
positively influences customer satisfaction and narrow-scope trust. C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In response to the recent troubled history of risk-related technological development in Europe, one institutional reaction has been to advocate public deliberation as a means of achieving broad societal consensus over socio-scientific futures. We focus on ‘consensusing’ and the expectation of consensus, and consider both their roots and their performative consequences. We argue that consensus should be seen not simply as the absence of disagreement but as a particular political and ideological formation. We consider and explore the Danish model based on the folkelig concept of the common good, before turning to the wider European movement towards consensus-building. As presented here, consensusing becomes a focus for political contestation but also for nation- and institution-building. Rather than evaluating deliberation solely in terms of its short-term instrumental effects, consensusing should also be understood as performative of national and inter-national identity.

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General practitioners’ classification of patients with medically unexplained symptoms

Mik-Meyer, Nanna; Obling, Anne Roelsgaard(Oxford, 2012)

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Abstract:

In encounters between general practitioners (GPs) and patients with medically
unexplained symptoms (MUS), the negotiation of the sick role is a social process.
In this process, GPs not only use traditional biomedical diagnostic tools but also
rely on their own opinions and evaluations of a patient’s particular circumstances
in deciding whether that patient is legitimately sick. The doctor is thus a
gatekeeper of legitimacy. This article presents results from a qualitative interview
study conducted in Denmark with GPs concerning their approach to patients
with MUS. We employ a symbolic interaction approach that pays special
attention to the external validation of the sick role, making GPs’ accounts of such
patients particularly relevant. One of the article’s main findings is that GPs’
criteria for judging the legitimacy of claims by those patients that present with
MUS are influenced by the extent to which GPs are able to constitute these
patients as people with social problems and problematic personality traits.

This article focuses on the role of user modeling
and semantic-enhanced representations for personalization. The
paper presents a generic Ontology-based User Modeling
framework (OntobUMf), its components and its associated user
modeling processes. This framework models the behavior of the
users and classifies its users according to their behavior. The user
ontology is the backbone of OntobUMf and has been designed
according to the Information Management System Learning
Information Package (IMS LIP). The user ontology includes a
behavior concept that extends IMS LIP specification and defines
characteristics of the users interacting with the system. Concrete
examples of how OntobUMf is used in the context of a
Knowledge Management System (KMS) are provided. The paper
discusses some of the implications of ontology-based user
modeling for semantic-enhanced Knowledge Management (KM),
and in particular for personal KM. The results of this research
may contribute to the development of other frameworks for
modeling user behavior, other semantic-enhanced user modeling
frameworks or other semantic-enhanced information systems.

In this paper, we introduce two new six-parameter processes based on time-changing
tempered stable distributions and develop an option pricing model based on these processes.
This model provides a good t to observed option prices. To demonstrate the
advantages of the new processes, we conduct two empirical studies to compare their performance
to other processes that have been used in the literature.

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Extant research offers conflicting predictions about the effect of pay dispersion on team performance. We collected a
unique dataset from the Italian soccer league to study the effect of intra-firm pay dispersion on team performance, under
different definitions of what constitutes a ‘‘team’’. This peculiarity of our dataset can explain the conflicting evidence.
Indeed, we also find positive, null, and negative effects of pay dispersion on team performance, using the same data but
different definitions of team. Our results show that when the team is considered to consist of only the members who directly
contribute to the outcome, high pay dispersion has a detrimental impact on team performance. Enlarging the definition of
the team causes this effect to disappear or even change direction. Finally, we find that the detrimental effect of pay
dispersion is due to worse individual performance, rather than a reduction of team cooperation.

Purpose – This paper discusses new approaches for managing personal knowledge in the
Web 2.0 era. We question whether Web 2.0 technologies (social software) are a real panacea
for the challenges associated with the management of knowledge. Can Web2.0 reconcile the
conflicting interests of managing organisational knowledge with personal objectives? Does
Web 2.0 enable a more effective way of sharing and managing knowledge at the personal
level?
Design /methodology/approach – Theoretically deductive with illustrative examples.
Findings – Web 2.0 plays a multifaceted role for communicating, collaborating, sharing and
managing knowledge. Web 2.0 enables a new model of PKM that includes formal and
informal communication, collaboration and social networking tools. This new PKM model
facilitates interaction, collaboration and knowledge exchanges on the web and in
organisations.
Practical implications – Based on these findings professionals and scholars will gain a better
understanding of the potential role of Web 2.0 technologies for harnessing and managing
personal knowledge. The paper provides concrete examples of how Web 2.0 tools are
currently used in organisations.
Originality/value – As Web 2.0 has become integrated in our day-to-day activities, there is a
need to further understand the relationship between Web 2.0 and Personal Knowledge
Management (PKM).

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We study the properties of foreign exchange risk premiums that can explain the
forward bias puzzle, de¯ned as the tendency of high-interest rate currencies to ap-
preciate rather than depreciate. These risk premiums arise endogenously from the
no-arbitrage condition relating the term structure of interest rates and exchange
rates. Estimating a±ne (multi-currency) term structure models reveals a noticeable
tradeo® between matching depreciation rates and accuracy in pricing bonds. Risk
premiums implied by our global a±ne model generate unbiased predictions for cur-
rency excess returns and are closely related to global risk aversion, the business cycle,
and traditional exchange rate fundamentals.

In this paper, we derive the dynamics and assess the economic value of currency speculation by
formalizing the concept of a trader inaction range. We show that exchange rate returns comprise
a time-varying risk-premium and that uncovered interest parity (UIP) holds in a speculative sense.
The often-cited `forward bias puzzle' originates from the omission of the risk-premium in standard
UIP tests. Consistent with its popularity among market professionals, the carry-trade strategy can
be rationalized as it systematically collects risk-premia and generates economic value when applied
in multi-currency portfolios.

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We present a new estimation approach that allows us to extract from spreads in
synthetic credit markets the contribution of systematic and idiosyncratic default risk
to total default risk. Using an extensive data set of 90,600 CDS and CDO tranche
spreads on the North American Investment Grade CDX index we conduct an empirical
analysis of an intensity-based model for correlated defaults. Our results show that
systematic default risk is an explosive process with low volatility, while idiosyncratic
default risk is more volatile but less explosive. Also, we nd that the model is able to
capture both the level and time series dynamics of CDO tranche spreads.

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Labels are often flashy conduits for hasty assumptions and partial truths. At the
time when I was writing Action and Existence: Anarchism for Business
Administration in the late 1970s, the term anarchism served as a handy synonym
for mess, chaos, and disorder. In this context the word cropped up in public
debates about the Baader-Meinhof terrorism in Germany in the aftermath of
Paris 68, for example. In putting my book together, I set out to explain what I
had learned through my own reading and discussion about this often shortchanged
term. In the research and writing process I discovered that the word
anarchism carried more concrete meaning than what I had first thought.

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We document significant ‘‘time series momentum’’ in equity index, currency, commodity,
and bond futures for each of the 58 liquid instruments we consider. We find
persistence in returns for one to 12 months that partially reverses over longer horizons,
consistent with sentiment theories of initial under-reaction and delayed over-reaction.
A diversified portfolio of time series momentum strategies across all asset classes
delivers substantial abnormal returns with little exposure to standard asset pricing
factors and performs best during extreme markets. Examining the trading activities of
speculators and hedgers, we find that speculators profit from time series momentum at
the expense of hedgers.

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The effects of potential social capital on involvement in foreign markets for goods and technology

Laursen, Keld; Masciarelli, Francesca; Prencipe, Andrea(, 2012)

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Abstract:

Drawing on social capital theory and the international business literature, we
argue that domestic geography, in terms of localized potential social capital,
facilitates individual firms’ awareness of business opportunities, including
knowledge related to involvement in the foreign markets for goods and technology,
thereby enhancing firms’ involvement in those foreign markets. When
potential social capital reaches a certain threshold, it may work to trap firms
into operating only within their home regions, thus reducing involvement in
foreign markets. We conjecture that firms’ research and development investment
moderates the relationship between potential social capital and degree of
involvement in foreign markets, but given the very different properties of the
two markets, with different signs for each market: a positive moderation effect
for the markets for goods, and a negative effect for the markets for technology.
We find empirical support for our arguments based on a representative sample
of around 2000 Italian firms.

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The paper discusses a method to triangulate process and product data. We
suggest converting Translog data into a relational format which contains
both process and product data. We outline how this representation allows
us to retrieve and correlate the various dimensions of the data more easily.
The concept of Alignment Unit (AU) is introduced and contrasted with that
of Translation Unit (TU). While AUs refer to translation equivalences in the
source and target texts of the product data, TUs refer to cognitive entities that
can be observed in the process data. With an (almost) exhaustive fragmentation
of the source and target texts into AUs, we are able to distribute and
allocate the entire set of keystroke data to appropriate AUs. Using the properties
of the keystroke data, AUs are quantified in a novel way which enables
us to visualise and investigate the structure of translation production on a
fine-grained scale.

Foreign language and culture learning suffers from a bad image in Danish Upper Secondary schools and German is not an exception. It means that the majority of Danish Upper Secondary school students are not particularly interested in learning the language. Therefore, intrinsic motivation plays a pivotal role in German language and culture learning in Denmark. One didactic initiative proposed to remedy the lack of intrinsic motivation is the introduction of various ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tools. This is the background for the research described in this article. Our study which was conducted on the basis of semi-structured focus group interviews with n=50 high school students and n=2 high school teachers shows that the ICT tools Photostory, MovieMaker and Voki indeed have an influence on students’ perceived intrinsic motivation in connection with German language and culture learning. Depending on the nature of the tool, our thematic analysis indicates that such tools facilitate different aspects of perceived intrinsic motivation. Still, our study shows that the tools have a limited effect on perceived intrinsic motivation, unless they are addressed and used strategically in the proper pedagogical context.

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We price vulnerable derivatives - i.e. derivatives where the counter-
party may default. These are basically the derivatives traded on the OTC
markets. Default is modeled in a structural framework. The technique
employed for pricing is Good Deal Bounds. The method imposes a new
restriction in the arbitrage free model by setting upper bounds on the
Sharpe ratios of the assets. The potential prices which are eliminated
represent unreasonably good deals. The constraint on the Sharpe ratio
translates into a constraint on the stochastic discount factor. Thus, tight
pricing bounds can be obtained. We provide a link between the objec-
tive probability measure and the range of potential risk neutral measures
which has an intuitive economic meaning. We also provide tight pricing
bounds for European calls and show how to extend the call formula to
pricing other nancial products in a consistent way. Finally, we numeri-
cally analyze the behavior of the good deal pricing bounds.